


Starry Nights

by behindthetardis



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: A melted pile of cotton candy fluffy feels, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But seriously it's just fluff on the roof, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, I Wish This Was Canon, Rooftops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-26 07:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3842935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/behindthetardis/pseuds/behindthetardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Amy Santiago, do you have a secret room you’re hiding from me?”<br/>“No, I don’t have a secret room you dork. It’s the roof access staircase. It connects to the old super’s apartment that takes you to the roof,” she says. </p><p>Jake discovers the roof access in Amy's apartment, and it becomes a staple location in their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Starry Nights

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a fun two day experiment in controlling my emotions about Jake and Amy feels and so it turned into a way-longer-than-I-planned fanfic. That's exciting, right?
> 
> I don't remember the 'Thanksgiving' episode that well, so there might be some layout differences when it comes to Amy's apartment. And I know she doesn't actually have rooftop access, but just go with it for this fic! Un-beta'd, but revised throughly. All mistakes are mine, and if you notice any, please let me know!  
> Enjoy!! 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Brooklyn Nine-Nine. If I did, there would be a few different things going on on that show. But that's not for me to decide. Anyways, on with the fic!

 

     “Ames, what does that door lead to?” He asks her, one evening when they are sitting on the couch in her apartment, watching the end of _Die Hard_. Jake found it as he was flipping through the channels when they got home from work.

     “What door?” Amy asks, noticing the empty takeout containers sitting on her coffee table. She leans forward to put them in the bag, noting to herself to start keeping some paper plates in the drawers of her coffee table for the use of her untidy boyfriend.

     “That one,” Jake points to the door in the corner, adjacent to her bedroom and just off the kitchen. “I’ve never seen you use it. Amy Santiago, do you have a secret room you’re hiding from me?”

     “No, I don’t have a secret room you dork. It’s the roof access staircase. It connects to the old super’s apartment that takes you to the roof,” she says, and gets up off the couch to throw away the trash. She looks back at him and as she notices his face lighting up, she immediately regrets telling him that.

     “You have _roof access_??” He shouts, mind already filling with all the adventures they could have on roof. “All this time we’ve been doing it just on the couch and in your bed, and that one time in the kitchen, and we could’ve been doing it on a _roof_?”

     “Jacob Peralta,” she looks across the room to him, making sure to make eye contact. “Read my lips. We are _never_ having sex on the roof of _any_ building. _Ever_. Understand?” Amy rinses off her hands and makes her way back to the couch.

     “Someday. Someday, we will,” he says with a laugh.

     She sits back down next to him with a sigh. “No we will not. It would be so inappropriate.”

     “And you were voted most appropriate,” he smirks, and puts his arm around her. She rests her head on his shoulder and smiles. He knows her so well.

     “That’s right,” Amy agrees, and plants a kiss on his cheek.

* * *

     It’s only about 5 minutes before he brings it back up.

     “Can we at least go up there?” He asks, combing his fingers through her hair.

     “Jake, there’s nothing to see up there. It’s just a bunch of leaves and crap. There’s not even a good view of the city,” she says.

     “The city wouldn’t be the only good thing to see up there…” Jake starts.

     “Jake!” she interrupts, smacking him on the chest.

     “I meant the stars! Come on, I just meant the stars. You can see them better from higher up. I used to climb up fire escapes with Gina all the time to look at the stars in the summer. Of course, that was before she realized there were other shiny things to be distracted by that weren’t up in the sky,” he says with a chuckle. “But there can be other good things to see up there too…”

     “No, I don’t even have a key!” Amy defends.

     “What are you talking about? We’re cops. We can pick almost every lock in this city,” Jake says, getting off the couch and heading toward the eggshell colored door. Amy sees no choice but to get up and follow him.

     He reaches the door, and starts fumbling with the top of the dusty doorframe. “Besides, if you’re like almost every other person in the world, you keep your spare key that you lie to your boyfriend about right...here!” His fingers grasp a shiny object.

     Amy throws up her hands in defeat, because she knows she’s lost. “Fine, whatever, we can go up there if you want, but I promise you’re going to be disappointed,” she leans up against her bedroom doorframe.

     Jake puts the key into the lock, but not without some trouble. “Is this even the right one? It won’t fit right!” He exclaims.

     A huge grin breaks on her face and she almost screams, “TITLE OF YOUR SEX TAPE!”

     “Dammit,” he leans forward against the door, laughing. “That was great.”

     “I’m becoming the master of the sex tape jokes,” she giggles with excitement.

     “Well, you did learn from the best,” Jake laughs, and tries the key again. It goes in smoothly this time, the lock clicks, and the door pops open.

     She watches him look into the hallway before he turns back around toward her.

     “What are you doing?” She asks.

     He’s walked past her, into her bathroom, and starts rummaging around.

     “Jake? What are you doing?” Amy starts toward the bathroom, but at the same moment he comes out, holding two of her beach towels – the ones she uses when there is a big spill, the ones she doesn’t care if they get dirty.

     “So we can lay down and look at the stars!” He explains with excitement, holding up the towels. She nods in understanding, and they go back to the door, into the hallway that leads to the stairs.

     They climb up the stairs, the door to her apartment slamming behind them.

* * *

      “You’re such a liar, you’ve been up here before!” Jake says as he notices the plastic lawn chair neatly folded in the corner.

    Amy blushes and unfolds one of the towels for them to sit on. “I used to come up here a lot when you were gone. It was a good place to get away from the thoughts of what might be happening on the streets below, and it was quiet. You can only get cell service in one corner, and it was really a nice place to just come and make lists,” she unfolds the second towel for padding, and sits down, leaning up against the brick wall.

     “Really? You were that concerned about me?” He asks, and sits next to her on the towel.

     “Yeah, I was worried about you. I had a lot of questions for you and for myself, and I thought about them while I was up here,” she says.

     Jake sits down and scoots next to her, so she can cuddle up against him. He puts his arm around her shoulder, and she leans her head against his.

     “Did you ever bring Teddy up here?” he asks, looking at the dusk Brooklyn sky.

     “Never,” she says. “He never even asked me about the door. I don’t think he cared.”

     “I’m glad I’m part of your secret roof access club,” he smirks, and presses a kiss to the top of her head.

     “It’s not really a secret club if you were the one to decide to come up here, is it?” She says, turning her head so she’s facing him.

     Jake doesn’t notice and is enamored by the stars. She looks at him and is enamored by _him_. She’s never felt this way about anyone before, like he is the one person in the entire world that she belongs with. To Amy, there is no better feeling than simply being with Jake. It’s right up there with impressing the captain with an amazing solve on a case. It might even be better than that. He makes her world make sense. And she thinks he’s the best thing to look at. There’s nothing better. Not the stars, not a perfectly organized filing cabinet, just Jake.

     They sit together on her rooftop, listening to the sounds of the city, and looking into the sky, Amy’s head on Jake’s shoulder, his hand tracing small circles on her arm. The stars begin mixing with the clouds becoming blurry as her eyes drift closer and closer to dozing off.

     “What all did you think about up here?”

     “I told you. I thought about you,” Amy sighs quietly. “Romantic-stylez and all. I spent too many evenings up here when I should’ve been sleeping. I didn’t know what it meant. I was determined to figure it out. It was like a case, except more complicated because I couldn’t talk to the suspects or the perps.”

     “Is it still a mystery now?” He asks, looking at her.

     “Nope,” She says, and presses her lips to his.

     He shifts to get a better angle and further the kiss, wrapping both of his arms around her, while her hands grab the collar of his flannel plaid shirt to pull him closer. _God_ , she is caught off guard every time they kiss, forgetting how talented he is at it.

     They stay intertwined even after Amy breaks the kiss, realizing that at some point in the past fifteen minutes, she ended up straddling his lap. His back is pressed against the wall, the top two buttons on his shirt are undone, and his hand is up the navy hoodie – Jake’s hoodie – that she’s wearing.

     Her forehead is pressed against his shoulder, and he is trailing kisses across her jaw and neck.

     “I thought you wanted to come up here too see the stars,” Amy breathes; difficult to do when her boyfriend is sucking on her neck.

     “I am seeing the stars,” he says against her skin. “There’s just one shining more brightly than the others.”

     She grins and an embarrassed flush creeps up her neck. That’s the one thing about Jake Peralta that will never, ever annoy her. No matter what, he’s always going to see the best in people. Whether or not he’s willing to admit it is a completely different story. But he always sees the bright side of situations and in people. It’s one of the things she loves most about him.

     He notices her slightly distracted smile in her eyes. “Thinking about how much of a star I am too?” He asks with a smug grin.

     She looks back at him, at his cheesy smile, his loving eyes, and lips slightly smudged with what was left of her work lipstick. She looks and sees her partner, her boyfriend, her best friend. She looks and sees the goofy boy who sings Taylor Swift on their stakeouts, who will watch _Die Hard_ four times in a row when he’s sick, who buys her Hanukah _and_ Christmas presents. She looks and sees the guy who survived Thanksgiving with her family (all seven brothers, their wives, her parents, and her six nieces and nephews – “Uncle” Jake is now the favorite according to three of them). She looks and sees the man who will make an absolute mess of her kitchen, but only because he was making a romantic dinner for her. She looks and sees the person she loves the most in this world, no matter how messy, imperfect, and disorganized he is.

     “I’m in love with you,” she says, and pauses. “Jake, I love you. Romantic-stylez.”

     There is another pause. She studies the expression on his face - nothing less than shock. They’ve only been dating for eight months. Longer than it should take for them to have actually said it, but they’ve never really done anything with correct timing.

     In typical Santiago style, she starts rambling on about it.

     “You don’t have to say it back, or even love me back, but I just want you to know how I feel about you. How I feel around you. Safe, happy, calm. Three things I didn’t feel before you were in my life. Or, at least in my life for good, the way you are now. I don’t care if you don’t say it back, or feel it back, just as long as you know how I feel. Absolutely in love with you.”

     She leans forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder once again.

     It feels like hours before he finally says something.

     “Stylez with a ‘z’?” He asks.

     She can’t help but giggle, knowing that’s his way of saying it back. For now.

     “Stylez with a ‘z’,” she confirms, and lifts her head back up to meet his with a kiss.

     She’s caught off guard by his make out skills once again, but there’s something different about it. There’s an intense passion, like he’s trying to spell something out to her that he can’t say with words, only actions.

     It’s Jake who breaks the kiss this time, noticing her hands red from supporting her position with the brick wall. She shifts her knees on the towel, her hips knocking against his groin.

     His breath hitches. “Maybe we should go back downstairs?” He says with a rough voice. She knows that voice anywhere. If she knows any of Jake’s voices, she knows his sex voice.

     Amy nods and climbs off his lap. She starts refolding the towels when he stands up.

     _Jesus_ what is wrong with him? Even the sight of her folding the towels into perfect squares is making him weak.

     They get back down into her apartment, she presses him up against the wall, kissing him with all the passion of the stars in the sky, and he tells her she’s beautiful. 

* * *

   The roof quickly becomes their favorite place to go and be completely alone. They even buy a few pieces of patio furniture to keep up there, even if all they really use it for is cushions to make out on.

     Only three weeks later, when they’re lying next to each other on the cushions, watching the stars up on the roof, Jake knows he’s ready to tell her he loves her.

     There isn’t anything special going on, they’re just lying in silence, hands brushing against each others, while Jake’s mind is racing. He looks over at Amy; with her dark hair standing out against his gray NYPD hoodie that she _swears_ is more comfortable than hers.

     She is focused on the clear night sky while he is focused on her. He looks at her and finally sees all that she sees in him. He sees the best detective in their precinct. He sees his best friend who somehow he was lucky enough to fall in love with. He sees the girl who smiles at him when he gets to work every morning (because she’s already been there for an hour and had two cups of coffee). He sees the most beautiful girl in the entire world, no matter if she’s wearing that _stunning_ red dress, or one of his hoodies and a pair of his boxers. He sees the one who actually enjoys spending time with his mom. He sees the girl who holds him at night when he wakes up from nightmares about being undercover. He sees the woman he loves more than anything, and is lucky enough for that woman to love him back.

     And, in typical Peralta style, he rambles about it, just like his girlfriend did.

     “Amy, I love you. Romantic-stylez,” he says, and continues without pausing. “I am in love with you. I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to say it back. There is really no reason that I waited. I look at you and see someone who loves me more than anything. You make me feel like I can be so much better than the goofy class clown or more than just the badass cop. With you, I know that I can do anything, because my best friend will always, _always_ be there to have my back.”

     Amy turns her head to face him, and squeezes his hand. “Stylez with a ‘z’?” She asks.

     He leans in, pressing his lips to hers for a searing kiss, his other hand cupping her cheek.

     After pulling away, he confirms, “stylez with a ‘z’.” 

* * *

     Their few patio chairs slowly turn into a full patio set for their secret hideaway. Amy has started buying books on astronomy so they can recognize the constellations, and Jake reads up on shooting stars. He is determined to see one someday.

     They both sign up for emails about meteor showers over the Brooklyn area. They start a tradition of having popcorn and wine on the roof whenever something special is visible, or for meteor showers.

     Six months after their first trip to the roof, they get an email saying there’s a meteor shower that night.

     That night, they’re up on the roof, with a bowl of buttered popcorn and as many blankets as they could carry.

     “What time is it supposed to start?” Amy asks him, and takes a sip of wine out of her thermos. It was too cold to bring wine glasses, and they were hard to carry while wearing gloves.

     “In about five minutes,” Jake says.

     He’s setting up the cushions in the corner against the wall where they determined was the best spot for stargazing. Amy was standing holding the bowl of popcorn and both of their thermoses, full to the brim with her favorite wine.

     She’s looking up at the clear sky, and not until she turns her attention back to Jake does she see he’s stopped setting up the blankets.

     He’s kneeling, with one knee on the pile of blankets, the other foot planted firmly on the ground. He’s taken off his gloves, and pulls a blue velvet box from his jacket pocket.

     “Jake, what are you doing?” Amy says with shock, absentmindedly putting the popcorn and wine on the table behind her.

     “Amy Santiago. You are my best friend. You more beautiful than the stars we love to look at so much, and you make me feel like I can do absolutely anything. You make me strive to be a better detective, not to mention a better person, and I am completely and totally in love with you,” he says, taking a nervous breath, and opening the navy velvet box to unveil a shining diamond ring. “I spent way, way more than one dollar on this ring. So will you spare me the rest of the completely true clichés about how much I want to be with you forever? Will you marry me, Ames?”

     Amy nods, sobs choking her voice, “Yes.”

     Jake breathes a sigh of relief, and stands up. She walks toward him, taking off her gloves, and wiping tears from her eyes. Wrapping her arms around him, she hugs him tighter than ever before.

     She is so filled with bliss that she forgets about the ring until Jake mentions it again.

     “Do you wanna put it on?” He asks, pulling back.

     “Yes!”

     He takes it out of the box and slides it onto her ring finger.

     “Jake, it’s gorgeous,” she says. It isn’t huge, (he’s still trying to get out of crushing debt), but it sparkles brighter than any ring she’s ever seen.

     “We’re engaged,” Jake says, like he doesn’t believe what just happened.

     “We are,” she says, kissing him. Surprised, as always with his talent for kissing. She figures it’ll be nice to be surprised like this for the rest of her life.

     “Do you like it?” He asks, allowing his insecurity about the ring show through for one last time. “Gina helped me pick it out, and you know her, she’s attracted to anything shiny…”

     “Jake,” she says, putting her hand over his mouth, the silver cold against his cheek. “It’s beautiful. It’s perfect. It shines like our stars. Brighter than our stars. And I love it.”

     He breathes a final sigh of relief, and she embraces him tightly once again, able to feel his heart pounding through his many layers of flannel and winter coat.

     He pulls back and gives her another quick kiss. “Good. Now you’re stuck with me,” he laughs, getting the wine and popcorn off the table.

     Amy refuses to put her gloves back on, keeping her hands in Jake’s jacket pockets, clutching his tightly to keep them warm. They cuddle under the blankets just in time to watch the meteor shower, knowing that the brightest star that night is not in the sky, but is hiding away in the jacket pocket of Brooklyn’s best detectives.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think, and if you want to talk about the latest episode, or really any feelings you have for Jake and Amy (I know I have plenty), come on over to my tumblr (thinking-in-fragments.tumblr.com)!


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